Category: South East Asia

For me, one of the most interesting styles I came across on my Singapore trip was Lau Gar Gow, or Liu Jia Jiao in Mandarin. Lau Gar Gow literally means “the teachings of the Lau family”, and is an extremely rare style of Southern Fist practiced by the Hakka people.

The Hakka people (Kejia in Mandarin) are an ethnic minority found in Southern China, as well as in the Chinese diaspora throughout Southeast Asia. An offshoot of Han people, they are the descendants of northern Chinese who fled south in several waves throughout history due to wars or famines. They settled in a mountaineous triangle between Jiangxi, Fujian and Guangdong provinces, and became well known for their fortress-like villages, herbal medicines and martial arts.

The style of Lau Gar Gow is extremely rare, and its unknown if anybody in China is still practicing it. As far as we know, there are only very small pockets of people in Singapore and Malaysia. In fact there are many family and village styles for which this is the case. Due to poverty, war and politics, many southern Chinese left their homeland in search of a better life in Southeast Asia, taking their martial arts with them.

In a future series, James Lee and I hope to travel around Southern China to find the roots of his Lau Gar Jow, as well as to see what other styles from Southeast Asia are still alive in some remote villages, and find out if and how they have evolved seperately. If you would like to support this and other upcoming projects, you can become a Patron here and get access to all kinds of exclusive content.

Ip Man has almost become a household name now, yet even before the film franchise, the majority of people who practiced Wing Chun knew the name. However, there is much more to Wing Chun than just Ip Man, if you have read my previous posts you will know I have trained Yuen Kay San style when I was in Hong Kong around ten years ago. On this trip to Singapore I was lucky enough to be exposed to another rare branch, this time Ban Chung Wing Chun, which traces its origins to the Red Boat Opera Troupes of the late Qing Dynasty.

As you can see from the video, the most obvious difference is that rather than practicing the three forms: Siu Lim Tao, Chum Kiu and Biu Jee, this branch has one long form made of 108 moves. This whole form is called Siu Lim Tao, however the characters used for it are different. Commonly, the form will be called 小念头, meaning Little Intention/Idea, however in this branch they use 小练头, meaning Small Practice Form. Master Cho says this difference could arise due to the difference in regional dialects (even Cantonese varies greatly from region to region). I actually recall reading somewhere previously that Wing Chun originally had this one long form that was divided into three sections, and the three forms done today are a relatively recent creation.

The other major difference is that they don’t practice common Lok Sau (rolling hands) method of Chi Sau. Instead they use Huen Sau (circling hands), which looks a little more like Taiji Push Hands. I have also seen Vietnamese Wing Chun in particular use this method.

Ban Chung Wing Chun is a style which has a very close connection to the early Red Boat Opera Troupes. In fact the name, Ban Chung (班中) actually means “within the troupe”, meaning that Ban Chung was practiced on the boats. These boats carried performers of Cantonese opera around the many waterways of southern China, and were a convenient hideout for anti-Qing revolutionary groups. In fact, it can be said that the reason Wing Chun looks like it does is because of the lack of space to train on the boats, forcing them to adapt by minimalising their movements to fit in the small space. Ban Chung Wing Chun specifically traces back to Cho Shun, who was an apprentice on the boat and learnt from Yik Kam, a male who played the females role. Cho Shun later retired to his native Poon Yun village and began to teach his art there, where it later spread to Malayisa and Singapore.

Ban Chung Wing Chun is informally known as Cho Gar, or Cho Family, however, Cho Gar itself also contains Choy Lay Fut, Hung Gar and other styles. The focus of this interview was just on the Wing Chun aspects. If you want to contact the Cho Gar Ban Chung Wing Chun Association in Singapore, you can visit their facebook here.

Among all Asian countries I have visited, Cambodia is one of my favorites.

It’s true, it’s not as popular as Thailand, or posh as Japan but this country holds a special place in my heart.

In October 2015, I flew there for a short time before heading to Vietnam.

Even if my husband and I didn’t have much time to spend in Cambodia, we knew, for sure, that we couldn’t miss a stop at the famous Angkor Wat complex.

According to the Unesco website “Angkor is one of the most important archaeological sites in South-East Asia. Stretching over some 400 km2, including forested area, Angkor Archaeological Park contains the magnificent remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century. They include the famous Temple of Angkor Wat and, at Angkor Thom, the Bayon Temple that with its countless sculptural decorations, one of the most widely recognized temples in Siem Reap because of the giant stone faces. UNESCO has set up a wide-ranging program to safeguard this symbolic site and its surroundings.”

Really impressive, isn’t?

Angkor Wat is more or less 330 km (205 miles) far from the capital city, Phnom Penh.

To cover this distance was the main problem to solve since we were traveling on a tight schedule.

By doing some online search, I found out that there are several domestic flights between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, the closest city to the temple area.

The problem was that, even if the flight was only 50 minutes, we were worried about the time we had to spend at the airport. We calculated that we were going to waste, at least, half a day for a very short flight. As if this was not enough, the cost was around 200$ return per person.

We felt discouraged since we had no clue about how to make it to Angkor Wat but we didn’t want to give up on our goal! I don’t know how much time I had spent on the Internet before I stumbled upon the Giant Ibis website. This Asian bus company connects Phnom Pehn and Angkor Wat, daily.

But…surprise, surprise, they also have night buses (departure times 10.30 pm – 11.00 pm – 11.30 pm) This turned out to be the perfect solution for us.

The night buses are modified vehicles (they feature single sleepers with their own recharge stations). A blanket and bottle of water are included in the price ticket. On the bus, there is also a toilet.

All of this for 15$ (plus 1$ for the credit card processing fee).

We spent in total 32$ return for a 6 hours ride. The bust departed from the Central Market in Phnom Penh (immediately outside the Giant Ibis office).

We slept comfortably during the entire ride.

Very early in the morning, we were in Siem Reap.

We had made prior agreements with our tuk-tuk driver to come and pick us up at the bus terminal.

His name was Mr. Phally.

We had found his website on the Internet and decided to contact him while organizing our excursion to Angkor Wat. The several positive reviews about his services convinced us to hire him.

He offered to take us around the archeological site with his tuk-tuk and to provide also an English guide, for more or less 50$

After the meeting, we arrived at the Angkor Wat Ticket Center (it opens at 5.00 am and closes at 5.30 pm)

We paid the ticket to get a one day pass.

On the pass there was our picture too, that was taken directly at the counter. This because the passes are strictly personals.

Back then the ticket was 20$ per person (quite expensive if you consider that the monthly average salary in Cambodia is 80-100$).

UPDATE: The price has almost doubled, from February 2017.

The one day pass costs now 37$ (a quite substantial increase, I would say).

Passes are available for 1, 3, 7 days and both cash and credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, JCB, Discover and Diners Club) are accepted.

We knew very well that we were going to enter a religious place so we made sure to have our shoulders and knees covered.

Since when traveling, we feel like guests in a foreign country, we try our best in being respectful of the local religion, custom, and culture.

Our first stop was Angkor Thom, the grandest iconic temple, and then we continued to Bayon, one of the most widely recognized temples in Siem Reap because of its giant stone smiling faces. During the rest of the day we had the chance to visit the Victory Gate, Thommanon, Chau say Thevoda, Ta Keo temples, and the Elephant Terrace. Our English speaking guide was always with us, providing explanations about the architecture and the history of the Khmer Empire. After each stop, we were offered fresh water and towels from Mr. Phally that, in the meantime, was also guarding our backpacks. We had lunch in a local restaurant inside the complex and we could rest and relax for a while. Our visit continued to Ta Prohm (the Tomb Raider Temple), Banteay Kdei and Srah Srang temples.

It was incredible to see how the vegetation and the majestic trees had been able to become part of the architecture style in itself. We couldn’t help but sit down on a rocky bench, admiring in awe, the fairy scenario in front of us.

We appreciated very much not only the visit but also the time spent with our guide. He allowed us to ask several questions about life in Cambodia, about the challenges of living in a developing country and what do locals think of the hordes of tourists invading the Siem Reap area.

It was a truly enlighting excursion, very spiritual and carefree.

Yes, mere words can’t express how it feels to visit Angkor Wat.

We also met some of the “Angkor Wat children”. Every day, the kids living in the area, enter the complex and try to sell postcards or pens to tourists.

They are friendly, maybe a little bit pushy, but really sweet. You can’t help but be moved to compassion toward them. A little girl stopped us; she wanted to sell us something. We didn’t buy anything, instead, we gave her some small money and we asked her for a picture. Maybe, not everybody would agree with doing this but we felt that, at the end of the day, that money could just give a help to a struggling family.

Our day just flew away.

We left the complex after having enjoyed a magical sunset.

We spent the rest of the evening exploring Siem Reap and its vast local market. There were also stalls selling typical food: snakes, cockroaches, scorpions, and other various insects. They were all boiled or fried, ready to be eaten. Sorry to say but we couldn’t make it, we ended up having a burger at the Hard Rock Café.

At around 11.00 pm we took our night bus to come back to Phnom Penh.

We still cherish wonderful memories of this experience and we highly recommend it to everyone.

Just in case, if this post has made you want to visit Angkor Wat, here you find some practical tips:

-Plan your visit well in advance, according to the weather conditions (the wet season is from May to October).

-Rely on a local guide/driver to bring you around the complex: it is massively huge. It’s easy to get lost.

-Wear comfortable shoes. If you plan to visit during the dry season, especially, remember to have some water along with a hat and sunglasses.

I’ve been in Asia eleven years now, and still never been to Thailand! I decided to change that, and got in contact with my friend Kieren Krygier, who runs The Martial Man, and he suggested I go to Koh Chang. Koh Chang is Thailand’s second largest island, and is right up on the border with Cambodia.

How to Get to Koh Chang

The island itself has no airport, but you can fly to nearby Trat and then take a ferry across. However, this is an expensive option, and so your best bet is either a taxi from Bangkok (about 4500 baht) or the cheapest but least comfortable is by bus. The journey is about five-six hours. Note that if you book a taxi via an online service, they will include the ferry ticket in the cost. We went with the taxi, as my wife gets car sick easily.

Where to Stay

Basically there is one road which goes around two thirds of the island, with almost all activity based on the west coast. There are several small towns along the windy and sometimes steep road which clings to the jungle-clad hills of the island. These towns are centered around a beach and are made up primarily of hotels, restaurants and other facilities catering for tourists; locals make up a very small population of fishermen and fruit farmers. We chose Kai Bae beach as by all accounts it was the most chilled out area, without the rowdy parties of the areas like White Sands beach or Lonely beach.

For our week long stay, we stayed in two resorts, Gajapuri Resort and Awa Resort, which were right next to each other. Of the two, we prefered Gajapuri as it had a more personal feel. From the moment we checked in, the staff were constantly smiling and very friendly. We had some problems with our wifi, but nothing seemed like too much trouble for them. All of the rooms were small wooden huts, which were cool inside and had all the amenities you could need. The private beach was very small, but had several swings hung from palm trees right over the sea, which was a nice touch. You could have drinks or dinner on the sea, or even a massage. Awa was very nice too, I can’t say anything bad about it but it had a more commercial, large scale feel to it. We booked a beachfront room and somehow got upgraded to a suite! The rooms were all in one large building, which didn’t feel as intimate as Gajapuri’s individual huts. The deco was very cool though, very modern but with lots of Chinese ornaments and calligraphy, giving it a museum-like feel. Awa didn’t really have a proper beach though, there was an area of sand, and then a sudden drop off into the sea, but they also offered massage and drinks overlooking the sea which was nice. Breakfast had a massive buffet, more variety than Gajapuri, I guess as there were much more guests.

What to Do

As I said before, Koh Chang is mainly just a great place to chill out. The biggest draws are definitely diving/snorkeling, or trekking in the jungle. We went snorkeling with the company BB Divers. I had a look around at various diving companies, and decided either BB Divers or Scubadawgs were the best choices. They provide pretty much the same services (the Scubadawgs boat was behind us for the whole day out), but we chose BB just because the website had more information about the various sites. It seems for snorkeling, most people go to the Marine Park, although we chose the shipwreck and some local reefs. The reason for this decision was that the Marine Park tends to get masses of tourists, so I had read, and so while the wreck and local reefs were less suitable for snorkeling, the atmosphere was much nicer. The main downside was that as a snorkeler, you kind of feel like you are just tagging along with the divers; you are just left to do your own thing. We were however, really well looked after by one Chinese instructor and the Thai boat captian, as my wife and our Chinese friends got very seasick.

The rest of our time in Koh Chang was just spent eating, getting massages and chilling on the beach. I had a massage almost everyday, the cost was about 250 baht for an hour, and I tried several places. I didn’t have a bad massage once; all of them were excellent and some of the best massages I’ve ever had!

Should You Visit Koh Chang?

While it doesn’t have the most spectacular beaches I’ve ever seen, I think this is a trade off. The fact the beaches are fairly average (combined with the difficulty of getting here) means less people. While the island pretty much solely caters to tourism, its not overrun with people. The other thing is that you aren’t going to get much in the way of culture, temples or monuments here. Koh Chang on the whole is just a place to come and relax. So if thats what you want, then by all means come here.

For my last day in the Philippines, my new friends drove me out to Tagatay, to see the large lake with a volcano in the middle. It was about a two hour drive outside of Manila, most of which was spent just getting through the city traffic! As we got out of the city the air turned clean and fresh, and the temperature dropped slightly. The driving was still crazy though! Tagatay is a small town on the side of the lake, which is essentially a volcano with a lake in the middle, which has another smaller volcano on an island in the middle. We picked a restaurant and had lunch while admiring the view. Our lunch consisted of a local specialty of bone marrow soup and garlic rice, along with fresh coconut juice to drink. After lunch we drove further on, to the town of Taal, where the famous Balisong knives (aka butterfly knives) are made.

Taal is a fairly small town, with a descent amount of old Spanish houses and a very large 500 year old church. It has a crumbly, run down feel to it, but has a definite charm. The streets were literally lined with shops selling knives and we found a decent looking one to check out. The girl selling the knives told us that usually the knives are homemade in the town, and she showed us a few tricks. After looking at a few blades I settled on a medium sized one which had a nice handle and seemed decent quality. I bargained the price to 450 pesos, so was fairly cheap.

After buying a knife we headed to the old church to take a look around, and also the old houses surrounding it.